Latest Achievements

Brittany Stuckey (COMM & Studio Art, 2016) had her photograph, "Cucumbers," and "The Story of This Image" published in the Newsletter of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS).
April 2017, Issue 5, page 4.

Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, William Wood, was a co-author of an article on medicinal aspects of matsutake mushrooms (Tricholoma magnivelare). Wood identified and synthesized a new compound from mycelium of this mushroom, which was used in the current study – “Effects of matsutake mushroom scent compounds on tyrosinase and murine B16-F10 melanoma cells.” It was published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.

Humboldt State University's Environmental Resources Engineering students retain their trophy for the American Society of Civil Engineers Mid-Pacific Water Treatment Competition (MidPac), for the second year in a row, and fourth time overall, leading HSU to have the most wins in this competition. In addition, HSU took Second Place Overall in MidPac, even though the environmental engineering students did not complete in the Concrete Canoe, Steel Bridge or Geowall competitions! Tongji University (Shanghai, China) was awarded first place overall due to their first place finishes in the other competitions that HSU did not compete in. The HSU team formed a great sense of camaraderie with the Tongji team, as they supported and cheered each other on throughout the three day conference.

MidPac was hosted by Chico State this year, and was attended by most of the UCs and CSUs in California, along with other international competitors. The competition was extremely close this year, with the ERE's toughest competitors being Tongji (China), Laval (Canada), University of the Pacific, UC Berkeley and UC Davis.

Midpac consists of four main competitions: Concrete Canoe, Water Treatment, Geowall, and Steel Bridge. There are also three report competitions: Transportation, Ethics, and Water Research, each offering a cash prize. Each competition victory earns the winning school conference points, which are summed at the end and used to declare overall Mid-Pac winners.

HSU has historically competed only in the wastewater treatment competition. This year, HSU also competed in the water research paper category and mini-games. For water treatment competition, the team dedicated an enormous amount of effort into each of the scored categories to earn First Place in Water Treatment:
Construction (Second Place)
Poster Presentation (Tie for First Place)
Powerpoint Presentation (First Place)
Design Report (First Place)
Water Quality (First place).

For the Water Research Report competition, ERE student Peter Duin received a unanimous first place finish in both design report and oral presentation. HSU also won the Scavenger Hunt.

ERE students Yaad Rana and Josh Martinez co-chaired the preparation for Mid-Pac. Other participants were Toni Castillo, Karen Duarte, Peter Duin, Fernando Flores, Tanya Garcia, Jacob Hurd, Jackson Ingram, Amanda ‘the Destroyer’ Lagasca, Tony Mitchell III, David Rivera, Raymond Rios, Kelly Rodman, and Eunice Romero. The students are especially grateful the guidance and feedback from Professors Brad Finney and Margaret Lang.

The Office of Sustainability recently announced the winners of the inaugural Sustainability Champion Awards. The award recognizes individuals on campus whose practices have deepened a culture of sustainability, have furthered the integration of sustainability into academics or student life, and/or reduced HSU’s environmental footprint.

This year's winners are: Madison Whaley (student category); Bailey Bergstrom (staff category; she is also a student), and Lonny Grafman (faculty category).

Each winner received a $250 gift card and an award made by The Sanctuary (http://www.sanctuaryarcata.org/) from reclaimed materials at an awards ceremony during the April 20 Earth Week Keynote Banquet held in the Great Hall.

The call for nominations was announced in early April. The award was open to students, staff and faculty who have worked to advance sustainability. Any student was eligible; however, those faculty and staff members with sustainability in their job title or as an obligatory aspect of their job were not eligible for the award.

The Call for Nominations for the 2018 Sustainability Champion Awards will go out in March 2018.

The Forestry and Wildland Resources Department celebrated its students during the annual Awards Banquet on April 18. This year, the department awarded over $68,000 in scholarships to 56 deserving students. Many scholarships were established by alumnae or in honor of alumnae; the Forestry Pathfinders scholarship was created by the founding forestry class at Humboldt State; and the Gayleen Smith scholarship was created in honor of the “office mom” for the department from 2005 through 2013.

The department also honored outstanding students: Brent Henry (Academic Excellence award in Forestry), Andrew Mueller (Professional Promise award in Forestry), Kaelie Pena (Rangeland Resource Outstanding Student), and Mariah Aguilar (Rangeland Resource Outstanding Student). And the students voted to award three separate honors: to Maurine Nicholson (Administrative Support Coordinator) and George Pease (Stockroom Manager) in recognition of their contributions to the department, and to Dr. Pascal Berrill for Outstanding Faculty member.

Assistant professor Kerri Hickenbottom and visiting professor Leslie Miller-Robbie co-authored an article on a techno-economic assessment of a closed-loop osmotic heat engine published in the Journal of Membrane Science.
Full article: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2017.04.034

Dr. Laura Johnson, lecturer in Sociology and Environmental Studies, authored the cover story in the April 20th issue of the North Coast Journal, highlighting the environmental and socio-political power of Humboldt County's community food system.
Full article can be found here
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/grab-it-by-the-horns/Content?…

Jamal Jones (English major, graduating in May) has been promoted to head coach of the varsity football team and teacher at Arcata High School. Jamal's achievement was recently recognized on KIEM-TV. View the full interview here: http://kiem-tv.com/video/jones-named-arcata-varsity-football-coach.

Dr. Renée M. Byrd was awarded a 2017-18 American Association of University Women Publications Grant to finish her book, "Punishment's Twin: Carceral Logics, Abolitionist Critique and the Limits of Reform."

Ms. Pacheco-Ramirez received a Young Adult Professional Scholarship to attend the Childhood Obesity Conference, the theme of which is "Good Health for All: Addressing where we Live, Learn, Work, and Play," in San Diego in June. The goal of the scholarship is to "inspire, nurture, and motivate the younger generation to take an active role in influencing positive community change."

Dr. Ray co-edited two new books that have just been published: Disability Studies & the Environmental Humanities: Toward an Eco-Crip Theory (Univ. Nebraska Press), which builds the connection between the field of disability studies and the field of environmental humanities, and Critical Norths: Space, Nature Theory (Univ. Alaska Press), which pulls cross-disciplinary essays together to challenge dominant notions of the "North."

For the last 16 years, student teams from the HSU Environmental Resources Engineering (ERE) department have participated in a four day long math modeling competition. The competition consists of the Mathematical Modeling Contest (MCM) and Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM) sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP). Competing against nearly 17,000 teams from thousands of universities, each team produced a report summarizing their solution to one of six possible problems.

This year, a record six ERE student teams entered in the competition that began on Thursday evening, January 19 and ended on Monday evening, January 23. Four of the six ERE teams were awarded the score of Honorable Mention, with fewer than 12% of the other teams scoring higher, and approximately 50% of the other teams scoring lower. One team received a ranking of Meritorious Winners, with fewer than 1% of the teams scoring higher. Finally, the team of Yaad Rana, Marcela Jimenez, and Joshua Martinez received the highest ranking possible, Outstanding Winner. This team also received the Rachel Carson award and the Sigma Scholarship award which provides a $3,000 prize to each team member.

The Math Department had twelve students in four teams compete in the International Mathematical Contest in Modeling this January. Teams are challenged to analyze an open applied problem and to propose a solution using mathematical modeling over an intense four-day competition. All four of our teams were recognized by the judges as either Honorable Mention or Successful Participant for their papers.

The students were advised by Dr. Kamila Larripa (Math) and are listed below.

Gabriela Martinez
Jeremy Johnson
Charlotte Olsen

Catie Ledesma
Katie Fasbender
Troy Maloney

(Successful)
Caleb Hill
Alden Bradley
Erik Knutsen

Karlie Elliott
Kylie Reich
Mario Sanchez

Janelle Adsit has received a Presidents’ Council on Underserved Communities (PCUC) Professional Development Award to attend the 2017 NASPA Closing the Achievement Gap: Student Success in Higher Education Conference in Washington, D.C. this June.

Dr. Armeda C. Reitzel, Chair of Communication, was the lead presenter of an education session titled "Yes, you can teach public speaking online! The process of redesigning a face-to-face public speaking course into a successful fully online course!" at the Online Learning Consortium Innovate 2017 Conference in New Orleans, LA on April 6, 2017. Her two HSU instructional designers, Kim Vincent-Layton (via Zoom) and Pam Dougherty (onsite), joined her in discussing the highlights of redesigning the fundamentals of speech communication course into an award-winning online offering.

Rosemary Sherriff co-authored a paper with three alumni, Kelly Muth, Madelinn Schriver, and Rebecca Batzel, in the Journal of Biogeography on spruce response to climate change in Southwest Alaska. Weblink: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.12968/epdf

James Floss, Lecturer in the Communication Department, served on a panel for The Northern Humboldt Union High School District's Career Frontiers Program, in partnership with College of the Redwoods, the Decade of Difference Initiative, and Humboldt State University, who invited local high school students and their parents to a series of college information panels. He answered their questions and shared insights and perspectives about the differences between high school and college, along with his expectations for being successful in college. He also provided testimony from 25 of his current freshmen students on the rigors of being a college student.

HSU students Elizabeth ("Lizzie") Philips and Phil Santos advanced to the top 16 at the U.S. Universities Western Regional Debate Championships held March 24-26 at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma WA.

USUW as it is called brought over 60 debating pairs representing 20 schools from Arkansas to Hawaii, from UCLA in Southern California to the University of British Columbia in B.C. Canada. Lizzie and Phil advanced to the quarterfinal round (the top 16) where they lost a close debate about whether or not the EU should pursue protectionist economic policies with the UK post "Brexit." The tournament is touted as a regional preview of the National Championships which the team will be attending next week.

Prof. C.D. Hoyle was awarded $55,000 as part of a larger $600,000 collaborative National Science Foundation grant in conjunction with Syracuse University and IUPUI. The project will establish a new experiment that will measure the gravitational constant, G, with unprecedented precision and will attempt to resolve the discrepancies between recent measurements. The funds will mainly support HSU students who will do research during the summer at IUPUI and play a substantial role in establishing the new experiment. More information can be found here: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1708024

Congratulations to Bill Trush, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Environmental Science & Management and Co-Director of the HSU River Institute for receiving the “Golden Pipe” award from the Salmonid Restoration Federation at their recent annual meeting in Davis, CA. The Golden Pipe is an award for innovators in the salmon restoration field. https://www.calsalmon.org/about/awards/golden-pipe-award

Kerri J. Malloy, Lecturer in Native American Studies, presented his paper Tuluwat: From Apology to Support at the Emerging Expertise: Holding Accountability Accountable conference (April 6-9, 2017) at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. The conference brought together a diverse array of early career scholars, lawyers, policymakers, and NGO Staff to work on issues germane to the aftermath of mass violence to generate novel ideas about past cases and contemporary ones. Participants explored “accountability” as a theoretical concept, methodological concern, moral principle, legal demand, and a form of ethical engagement.

MSc (Environmental Systems-Geology) students Mindi Curran and Tim Bailey presented their work at the annual Salmonid Restoration Federation Conference in Davis, CA on March 30-April 2. This year's theme was "Restoring Watersheds and Rebuilding Salmon Runs." Both Curran and Bailey were invited to give oral presentations in the "Using Photogrammetric and Aerial Vehicle Technology to Support Salmonid Restoration Planning and Engineering" topical session, which was aimed to teach specific tools to researchers using high resolution imagery to quantify aspects of stream habitat.

Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy published two articles.

"We Fight for the Land, The Earth, Everything: From Bears Ears to the High Country of California" was published in an edited collection "Edge of Morning: Native Voices Speak for Bears Ears." A copy of this book was sent to members of Congress to support making Bears Ears a national monument.

"Water Is Life: The Flower Dance Ceremony" was published in the 30th Anniversary Edition of News From Native California Magazine. This article explores the connection between Native women and water.

Both articles can be found on Dr. Risling Baldy's website: http://www.cutcharislingbaldy.com/publications.html

Librarian Marissa Mourer was selected to serve as a panel presenter at the national Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) conference in Baltimore, MD, March 2017, which convenes every two years. Marissa shared her original project, "Library Brain Booth" during the panel entitled, "Transforming Academic Libraries into Centers for Wellness, Relaxation, and Contemplation."

Congratulations to Leticia Sanchez an International Studies major with a concentration in Global Culture and Karl Gareth Jones Oman, an Environmental Resources Major, who have both been selected to receive the Spring 2017 HSU Global Ambassadors Fund award.

The purpose of this award is to support full-time HSU students seeking to study abroad anywhere in the world for at least a semester and to cover costs not readily paid from other sources. For those aiming to study abroad in Spring 2018, details of the application process are available at: http://www2.humboldt.edu/internationalstudies/global_amb_scholarship.html

The next deadline will be: October 2, 2017.

Erin Kelly, Assistant Professor in Forestry, was awarded the Educator of the Year by the California Forestry Association. She received the award at the annual CFA gathering in Napa, California on March 2.

Dr. Kelly also joined the Forest Policy Committee for the Society of American Foresters (SAF), the largest professional society for foresters in the United States. The Forest Policy Committee has 10 members representing academia, industry, and non-profit organizations; members met in Washington, DC from March 6-7 to recommend federal policy priorities for SAF staff and board members to relay to federal legislators and agencies.

Hunter Fine was invited to present communication scholarship on two panels at the Central States Communication Association Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2017:

"The Cultural Practice of Riding Waves: Deconstructing Performances of Empire and Resistance." Contributed paper presentation “Framing: Dimensions of Culture, Identity, Media and Power” in the Intercultural Communication Interest Group.

Contributed position presentation “Community Policing—How Communication Education, Training and Theory can help Create Better Relationships among Law Enforcement and the Community” in the Intercultural Communication Interest Group.

Geographer Stephen Cunha’s Perestroika to Parkland: The Evolution of Land Protection in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan, appears in Annals of the American Association of Geographers 107:2. In a span of twenty-four years a perestroika-inspired citizen and government coalition created one of the largest protected areas in the Palearctic Realm. The national park and World Heritage Site represents a significant milestone in the global movement that began in Yosemite to protect landscapes for the use and enjoyment of all people. See: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/wWsw383Cn56BPvEXq8Mb/full

Steve Martin had a peer-reviewed article titled 'Real and Potential Influences of Information Technology on Outdoor Recreation and Wilderness Experiences and Management' published in the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration.

The Switzer Foundation Environmental Fellowship flew HSU graduate researcher Keith Parker to Washington DC where he met with Senator Kamala Harris’ staff (Mar 13) and Congressman Jared Huffman’s staff (Mar 14). The subjects were Klamath River restoration and the 2016 Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement dam removal timeline. Keith spoke from the perspective of a Yurok tribal member living on the river merged with his thesis work in the Klamath basin. Klamath River environmental justice issues of blue-green algae blooms, health quarantines, fish kills, low water flows, and other issues disproportionately impact California’s three largest tribes in the basin.

Dr. Dallasheh was invited to present a paper at Cornell University. Entitled "Between Nation and State: Nazareth’s Palestinian Citizens’ legal Strategies in Israel," the paper was presented, despite the storm. It was also streamed and can be watched at: https://cornell.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=191386bb-a712-4d16-9d14-d8c7204ab990

Matthew Derrick received a Title VIII Fellowship to study the Kazakh/Kyrgyz language at the Central Eurasian Studies Summer Institute (CESSI) this summer at the University of Wisconsin.

Christine Mata, Associate Dean of Students at Humboldt State University, and co-authors Chia Claros, Gina A. Garcia, and Marc P. Johnston-Guerrero have published a chapter in New Directions for Student Services, no 157, entitled “Helping Students Understand Intersectionality: Reflections from a Dialogue Project in Residential Life.” Mata, a doctoral student in the Higher Education and Organizational Change program at University of California-Los Angeles, has developed and presented several on-campus trainings this spring semester 2017 regarding Microaggressions and Bystander Intervention as part of HSU’s efforts to create an inclusive campus community.

Mark Colwell and current and former students (Lizzie Feucht, Matt Lau, David Orluck, Sean McAllister, Amber Transou) published a paper in Wader Study, an international journal dedicated to shorebird ecology and conservation. The work summarizes 16 years of monitoring to show that immigration is vital to recent population growth of Snowy Plovers in coastal northern California.

Professor of Anthropology Marissa Ramsier was recently invited to the Jacksonville Zoo in Jacksonville, Fla., to help examine a gorilla that was suspected to be deaf. The visit was featured on NBC's Today's Show. Video from the report is available here: http://www.today.com/video/watch-doctors-test-this-gorilla-to-see-if-she-s-gone-deaf-894807619843

History Professor Thomas D. Mays' fourth book, "American Guerrillas," will be out the first week in April. Here is a link to read more: http://lyonspress.com/book/9781493022298

There will be a book signing Friday, April 7 from 6-8 at the Wine Spot on F Street in Old Town Eureka.

Dr. Ray was invited to speak about the environmental humanities, race, and justice at the University of Oregon on March 2. The visit also included a writing workshop for a collection Dr. Ray is producing with colleagues there, titled Latinx Literary Environmentalisms: Justice, Place, and the Decolonial.

ENST major Madi Whaley, ENGL majors Jacqueline Lowe and Miranda Olberg, and E&C master's student Natalia Cordoso, were selected to present their own research at the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment conference in Detroit in June. Madi, Jacqueline, and Miranda received undergraduate research awards from CAHSS to support their trip.

ENST major Shanti Belaustengui Pockell has been accepted to join the California Student Sustainability Coalition Writing Team-- a huge honor. The CSSC unites, connects, supports, and empowers students from across California to transform their educational institutions and communities into models of ecological, economic, and social sustainability. The Writing Team creates written content related to the student or youth voice in the sustainability movement to be featured on the CSSC website, newsletters, and other social media platforms. Shanti will be turning in about 1,000 words a month, highlighting the work of the HSU community in regards to Sustainability and Environmental Justice work.

Adam Carter will present his paper, "Using Programming Process Data to Detect Differences in Students' Patterns of Programming" at this year's ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) in Seattle, WA.

Matthew Derrick recently was selected as a Fulbright Scholar. The award will support him while on sabbatical for the 2017/18 academic year, while he conducts comparative field research in Central Asia. For the duration of the award he will be affiliated with American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Physics student Sean Haas recently had his first peer reviewed article published in National Conference on Undergraduate Research Proceedings. Haas' paper is titled, "Searching for a Connection Between Radio Emission and UV/Optical Absorption in Quasars," the abstract for which can be viewed online here: http://www.ncurproceedings.org/ojs/index.php/NCUR2016/article/view/2028.

Humboldt State debaters Lizzie Phillips and Philip Santos took first place at the 2017 Steeltown Invitational debate tournament in Pittsburg, CA. Benjahmin Johnson was also ranked as the 7th best speaker.

"Ecosystems of California" won two 2017 PROSE awards, which are given by the Association of American Publishers. It won the award for environmental science, and the overall award for excellence in physical sciences and mathematics.For more information on AAP 2017 awardees visit:
https://proseawards.com/winners/

Librarians Tim Miller (Digital Media and Learning) and Sarah Fay Philips (Coordinator of Instruction and Reference) presented at the Evidence-Based Teaching & Learning Lilly Conference (February 23-26, 2017). The title of their presentation was “Creating a Lifelong Learning Culture: Motivating Learners and Engaging Educators”. The conference provides a forum to share and model a scholarly approach to teaching and learning that reports quality student learning outcomes while promoting professional development of faculty.

Joshua Frye (Associate Professor, Communication) recently presented a paper at the Western States Communication Association annual convention in Salt Lake City. The paper was a part of a panel entitled "Centralizing Food Justice's Place(s) in Environmental Communication. Other panelists included colleagues and collaborators from the University of Utah, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Frye's paper introduced some theoretical tenets to shape critical environmental communication inquiry into food justice agency.

Mark Szymanski (MS Student, Geology) received a $1,000 research grant from the Northern California Geological Society. Mark will these funds to measure oxygen isotope ratios of olivine crystals in lavas erupted over the last 750,000 years in the Sierra Nevada. Results from Mark's thesis will advance our understanding the controls of where mafic volcanoes form and how they evolve.

Tyler Stumpf (Asst. Professor, Management) recently had a research paper entitled "Institutions and transaction costs in foreign-local hotel ventures: A grounded investigation in the developing Pacific" accepted for publication in the journal Tourism Management. As opposed to the status quo approach to foreign-local hotel ventures in developing Pacific Islands which is predicated on idealistic presumptions regarding formal institutions, this study elucidates how transaction costs associated with such ventures can be economized by recognizing, valuing, and utilizing informal institutions.

Amy Sprowles (Biology) and Kerri J. Malloy (Native American Studies) presented their paper “Klamath Connections: creating cultural awareness through interdisciplinary study and community partnerships in the next generation of STEM professionals” at the Critical Histories and Activist Futures: Science, Medicine, and Racial Violence conference (February 24-25, 2017) at the Program in History of Science and Medicine at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The conference focused on issues of science and racial violence as objects of historical study, and considered the lingering inequalities and injustices within history as a discipline.

Dr. Fine has recently published an article and performance video in Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies. The work explores the modern day commute through a critical qualitative performance methodology:

Fine, Hunter H. “Deconstructing/Performing The Commute: Proto-Poststructuralist Theory and Individual Motility.” Ed. Michael LeVan and Daniel Makagon. Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies 12.4 (2016).